Rotary hydraulic pressure device



Dec. 19,1944. H. z. GORA 2,365,263,

ROTARY HYDRAULIC PRESSURE DEVICE Filed Ndv. 13, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Dec. 19, 1944. H. z. GORA ROTARY HYDRAULIC PRESSURE DEVICE Filed Nov.15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 19, 1944 sonar HYDRAULICranssuan DEVICE Henry Z. Gora, Bridgeport, Conn. sssignor to JenkinsBros, New York, N. Y., a corporation of I New Jersey ApplicationNovember is, 1941, Serial No. 4112,91:

lindrical chamber and carries radially movable engage the walls of thevanes which' slidably chamber.

In such devices the path. of movement ofthe vane ends is notconcentricwith the casing and accordingly it has been proposed heretofore, as forexample in the patents to John W. Gurley Nos. 1,472,414 and 1,658,524,,to employ shoes sibility is often in bothcases as, ior example, in mosthydraulic remote control orremote operation systems.

seated in recesses in the ends of the vanes and having their outer orworking facesv curved in substantially the same radius as the innersurrace of the casing. As the device rotates, these' shoes can rock inthe vane recesses and thus maintain close sliding engagement with theeasing. At the 'same time, however, the-eccentricity of the rotorresults in relative radial movement of'the vanes which thus have apistonlike reciprocation in their pockets in the rotor and a resultantpumping eflect on any liquid in the rotor pockets beneath the vanes.Accordingly the aforesaid Gurley Patent No. 1,658,- 524 providespassagesv extending from these pockets through the vanes and shoes torecesses in the outer faces of the shoes, and passages extending fromthe latter to the leading sides of the moving vanes, whereby the liquidin each rotor pocket is pumped outahead of the moving vane. eration toexpel the liquid to the leading side of the vane a directionallimitation is thus imposed on the rotation of the device.

While satisfactory for certain purposes,.the field of use of devices ofthe type characterized above has heretofore been limited in importantSince it is necessary for efllcient op- One of the objects of thepresent invention is to provide a novel device of the typecharacterized' above which will operate emciently in either direction ofrotation, whether as a pump or a motor. v

Another object is to provide a novel device of the above character whichis symmetrical in construction and operation and equally ei'llcientineither direction of operation.

Another object is to provide novel means for controlling the flow ofliquid to and from the rotor pockets beneath the vanes, which means isautomatically reversible as the direction of rotation of the device isreversed. 4

A further. object is to, provide such a device which; is capable ofdeveloping and maintaining or operating positively at high as well aslow pressures with great eiliciency and at high as well as. lowtemperatures.

A still further object is to reduce the leakage past the vanes of such adevice. p

Other objects will appear hereinafter as the description of theinvention proceeds. One embodiment of the invention has been illustratedin the accompanying drawings, but it is to be expressly understood thatsaid drawings are for purposes ofillustration only and are not to beconstrued as a definition of the respects. For instance, it has beendifficult to maintain a liquid-tight sliding seal, particularlybetweenthe ends of the rotor and the radial edges of the vanes, on theone hand, and the opposed flat end surfaces of the chamber. As a resultefliciency has been low even at low pres-- sures, and high pressurescannot be developed and maintained, particularly with liquids such asoil which become thin at high operating temperatures.

Hence the use of such devices as liquid pumps has been restricted, andthey have not been satisfactory as hydraulic motors where positiveoperation is required. Another disadvantage in a device of the typeshown in the Gurley-Patent No. 1,658,524, for example, is that it willoperate in only one direction of rotation,

either as a pump or as a motor, whereas reverb5 limits of the invention,reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a section through a device embodying the inventiontaken on theline l'-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a vane and its associatedshoe;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the vane and shoe;

Fig; 5 is a, section through the rotor; and

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of vane and shoe embodying the invention.

The casing of the device may be of any suitable type and construction.In the form shown. it comprises two casing members It having opposedilat surfaces which are separated by a ring member ll, thesepartsforming a substantially cylindrical chamber ii. The casing parts in Fig.1.

The rotor shaft I extends eccentrically through the cylindrical chamberi2 and is suitably mounted for rotation in the casing members in as bymeans of roller bearings IS. The shaft extends through recessed bossesIT on the easing members in which any suitable liquid-tight packing maybe provided. In the form shown, the packing I8 is held in engagementwith the shaft by springs IS, the recesses being closed by end plugs 20.

A rotor 2i is mounted on the shaft I5 to rotate within the chamber l2 asby means of a key 22, the ends of the rotor having a close sliding fitwith the end surfaces of the chamber I2 as shown A suitable number ofaxial slots or pockets 23 are formed in the rotor to carryradiallymovable vanes 24. As herein shown, the pockets and vanes are sixln-number, although it will be understood that any suitable number ofvanes can be employed. The vanes 24 are arranged to move in and out intheir pockets 23 as the distance between the circumferenceof the rotorand the inner peripheral surface of the ring I I varies due to theireccentricity. Preferably this radial movement is effected by arrangingthe vanes in diametrically opposed pairs, pins 25 extending throughopenings in the hub of the rotor and in the shaft so that they areinterposed between the inner ends of each pair of vanes. Thus inwardmovement of one vane due to the eccentricity of the rotor causes outwardmovement .of the diametrically opposite vane. The pins 25 are suitablyarranged so that they do not conflict in passing through the axis of therotor shaft. As shown in Fi l, the vanes of I one pair may be connectedby a single central pin 25, the vanes of a second pair by two pinspassing on either side of the first pin, and the vanes of a third pairby two pins passing on either side of the first pair of pins. These pinspreferably have a tight sliding fit in their openings in the rotor hubin order to minimize leakage from the bottoms of the pockets 23.

The radal edges of the vanes 24, together with the end surfaces of therotor 2!, have a tight sliding fit between the opposed end surfaces ofthe cylindrical chamber l2. The ends or axial edges of the vanes,however, rotate in a path which due to the eccentricity of the rotor andchamber has a diiferent radius of curvature than the peripheral surfaceof the chamber I2. In order to maintain a sliding seal between the endsof the vanes and the periphery of the chamber,

shoes 28 are seated in recesses 21 in the ends of the vanes, the outerworking faces of these shoes having a sliding engagement with theperiphery of the chamber l2 and the shoes being capable of rocking ortilting in their recesses 2'! to maintain this engagement. Suitableinlet and outlet openings 28 and grooves 29 are formed in the ring II,as shown in Fig. 2, the direction of movement of liquid through thedevice depending upon the direction of rotation of the shaft II and onwhether One source of difficulty in devices of this type is to maintaina tight sliding fit between the rotor and vanes and the end surfaces ofthe cylindrical chamber. The rotor shaft is held in substantially rigidalignment by its hearings in the casing, so that the plane of rotationof the rotor is fixed whenit is secured rigidly to the shaft. Whenallowance is made for this condition, the clearances which must be leftbetween the ends of the rotor and vanes and the end surfaces of thechamber are too large to develop andmaintain high pressures,particularly at high operating temperatures where the viscosity of theliquid, such as oil, decreases. Hence provision is made for relativelysmall-inclination of the rotor axis with respect to the shaft axis andindependently of the alignment. of the shaft in its bearings, with theresultthat smaller clearances are satisfactory. Thus the device operateswith greater eniciency and is also capable of developing and maintainingsubstantially higher pressures. In the form shown, this is accomplishedby providing a loose ilt between the central portion 30 of the rotor hub(Fig. 5) and the shaft l5 and by enlarging the internal diameter of theend portions 3| of the rotor bore, the shaft being held longitudinallyin position with respect to the rotor hub and casing in any suitablemanner as by the split ring 32. Thus tilting of the rotor axis withrespect to the shaft axis is permitted by the loose vlit of its bearingsurface 30 and the maximum available extent of such tilting is increasedby the enlarged portions 3i. At the same time the shaft openings throughwhich the pins 25 extend are of larger diameter thanthe pins, as shownin Fig. 1, so as not to interfere with the play of the rotor on theshaft.

Preferably also the material of the rotor and .the vanes has acoefficient of expansion which is at least as great and preferablyslightly greater than that of the material of the ring Ii.

Hence as the operating temperature increases and the ring II expands toseparate the end surfaces of the,cylindrical chamber l2, the axialextent of the rotor and vanes increases correspondingly and the tightsliding fit is thus maintained. Preferably the coefficient of expansionof the rotor and vanes is slightly greater than that of the ring, sothat the clearance between the rotor and vanes and the end surfaces ofthe chamber will be decreased slightly as the temperature increases andthe viscosity of the liquid decreases. Any suitable materials may beemployed; for example the ring ll may be made of cast iron and the rotorand vanes of steel.

It is further. desirable that such devices, whether operated as pumps oras motors, should be capable of rotation in either direction, andaccordingly it is desirable to provide means for exhausting the liquidfrom the rotor pockets 23 to the leading sides of the vanes regardlessof the direction of rotation of the device, and which are automaticallyreversible with reversal of the direction of rotation of the device.Preferablyv this is accomplished by providing passages 33 throughthevanes 24 which connect the bottoms of the pockets 23 with the bottoms ofthe recesses 21, and by employing the shoes 28 as flowcontrollingdevices to direct the liquid from the passages 23 to the proper sides ofthe moving vanes depending on the direction of rotation of the device.To this end the seating faces of the shoes 28 are made smaller than theseating faces of the vane recesses 21 so that the shoes are capable ofcircumferential displacement against either side of the recesses tomaintain the seal while at the same time leaving spaces at the scribedabove.

other sides of the recesses through which the liquid escapes from thepassages 33 to the chamber I2. 7 In the working space of the device, asshown at the top of Fig. 2, the shoes are thus main tained against thetrailing sides of their recesses so that the liquid escapes from thepockets 23 to the leading sides of the vanes regardless of the directionof rotation Preferably, and as here shown, the seating faces of theshoes 26 and the cooperating faces of the vane recesses 21 are circular,but the radius of curvature of the shoe faces is less than that of thevane faces. Hence the shoes are free to -rock or tilt in the recesses sothat their working faces conform to the curvature of the periphery ofthe chamber l2, while at the same time the shoes are capable ofcircumferential displacement against either side of their recesses, asexplained above, leaving spaces for the escape of If desired, longiifldinal grooves llrlmay be provided in the woiikingjfaces .ofthei: shoes26 to decrease the area'of theshoes bearing on-the periphery of thechamber l2, and at the same time passages 36 may be provided through theshoes to connect the grooves with the vane recesses 21 whereby thepressure of the liquid on the seating faces is partially equalized bythe equalpressure of the liquid on the bottoms of the grooves 35.Bythese means the friction between the shoes and the casing isminimized.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modified form of vane and associated elementwhereby a seal is maintained between the ends of the vanes and theperipheral surface of the casing and reversibility of rota-' tion isobtained as described above; The vane 31 is provided with one or morepassages 33 and an end recess 39 which correspond to the passages 33 andrecesses'2l of the vanesv 24 de- The sealing element or shoe 40, whichcorresponds to the shoe 26 described above,

' is here shown in the form of a roller capable of rotation in therecess 39 'so that it rolls in contact with the periphery of the chamberdue to .the rotation of the rotor and vanes. The diameter of the shoe orroller is smallerthan the width of the recess 33 so that it is capableof displacement against either side of the recess, having the other sideopen for the escape of liquid from the passages 38 to the leading sideof the vane as described above. Since the shoe 40 rolls in contact withthe casing, however,' it is not cut away to provide relief spacescorresponding to the spaces 34 ofthe shoes 28, but the bottom of therecess 39 may have any suitable shape, preferably substantiallyrectangular, to provide such relief spaces and thus to insure the freeescape of the liquid from the passages.

It will be observed that due to the close sliding fit maintained betweenthe rotating parts and the walls of the chamber, high pressures can bedeveloped and maintained in pumping operation and positive high pressureoperation obtained as a motor. At thesame time leakage pastthe'vanesand, rotor isminimized and the maintained regardless of changes in theoperat'-- ing temperature of the device. Whether used as a pump or as amotor, the device may rotate in either direction with equal efficiencysince the construction and operation are symmetrical in either directionof rotation. These results enable the use of-such devices to accomplishpurposes and functions for which such devices have not been practicableheretofore. As one example, they are well adapted for use in hydraulicremote control or operatingsystems such as are desirable on-board shipfor controlling and operating remote devices such as watertight doorsand the like. For such purposes reversibility is often an essentialrequirement, and to insure positive operation it must be possible todevelop and maintainrelatively high pressures and to insure positivemotor operation, both at high aficiency.

A device embodying the present invention fulfill all of theserequirements and can be used either as a pumping unit or as a-motorunit, or both. It will be understood, however, that the invention is inno way restricted to these particular uses, and that while prior devicesof this type may have been acceptable for certain purposes,

the present invention nevertheless enables superior results to beobtained in any use for which rotary-flhydraulic devices of this typehave been proposed.

f only one embodiment of the invention has been described andillustratedin the drawings, it will be understood that this embodiment is forpurposes of illustration only, and that vari- 'ous changes, may be madein the design, details of construction and arrangement of parts, many ofwhich will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, reference is tobe had to. the appended-claims for a definition of the limits of theinvention.

What is claimed is: I 4 1. In a device of the class described having acasing with a substantially cylindrical chamber therein, a rotor mountedeccentrically within said chamber and provided with pockets, and vanesradially movable in said pockets and rotatable therewith, the radialedges of the vanes and the ends of the rotor slidably engaging the endsurfaces of said chamber, said vanes having recesses in the endsthereof, shoes seated insaid recesses and having sealing engagement withthe peripheral surface of said chamber, and passages in said vanesconnecting said recesses with said pockets beneath the vanes, said shoesbeing smaller than said recesses and each 'displaceablecircumferentially, against either side of its recess whereby saidpassages communicate with said chamber through the other open sides ofsaid recesses. 1

2. In a device of the class described having a casing with asubstantially cylindrical chamber therein, a rotor mounted eccentricallywithin said chamber and provided with pockets, and vanes efficiency ofoperation is greatly increased over I devices ofthis type as heretoforeproposed. Moreover,-the desired efficiency of operation is eachdisplaceable circumferentially against either radially movable in saidpockets and rotatable therewith, the radial edges of the -vanes and theends of the rotor slidably engaging the end surfaces of said chamber,the ends of said vanes having arcuate recesses, shoes having arcuatefaces" seated in said recesses and working faces slidably engaging theperipheral surface of said chamber, the radius of curvature of theseating faces of said shoes being less than the radius of curvature ofsaid recesses whereby said shoes are ,side of their recesses. andpassages in said vanes connecting said recesses with said pocketsoeneath the vanes.

3. In a device of the class described having a casing with asubstantially cylindrical chamber therein, a rotor mounted eccentricallywithin said chamber andprovided with pockets, and vanes radially movablein said pockets and rotatable therewith, the radial edges of the vanesand the ends of the rotor slidably-engaging the end surfaces oi saidchamber, said vanes having recesses in the ends thereof, shoes seated insaid recesses and slidably engaging the peripheral surface .of saidchamber, and passages in said vanes connecting said recesses with saidpockets beneath the vanes, said shoes being smaller than said recessesand each displaceable circumferentially against either side of itsrecess whereby said passages communicate with said chamber through theother open sides of said recesses, the seating faces of said chamber,the ends of said vanes having arcuate recesses, shoes having arcuatefaces seated in said recesses and working faces slidably engaging theperipheral surface of said chamber, the radius of curvature of theseating faces of said shoes being less than the radius of curvature ofsaid recesses whereby said shoes are each dispiaceable circumferentiallyagainst either side of their recesses, and passages in said vanesconnecting said recesses with said pockets beneath the-vanes, the bottomportions of the arcuate seating faces of said shoes being cut awayadjacent the ends of said passages to permit free escape of liquid fromsaid passages.

5. In a device of the class described having a casing with asubstantially cylindrical chamber therein, a rotor mounted eccentricallywithin said chamber and provided with pockets, and vanes radiallymovable in said pockets and rotatable therewith, the radial edges of thevanes and the ends of the rotor slidably engaging the end surfaces ofsaid chamber, said vanes having recesses in the ends thereof, shoesseated in said recesses and slidably engaging the peripheral surface ofsaid chamber, and passages in said'vanes connecting said recesses withsaid pockets beneath the vanes, said shoes being smaller than saidrecesses and each displaceable circumferentially against either side ofits recess whereby said passages communicate with said chamber throughthe other open sides of said recesses, the working faces of said shoeshaving grooves communicating with said recesses by passagesthrough saidshoes.

6. In a device of the class described having a casing with asubstantially cylindrical chamber therein, a rotor mounted eccentricallywithin said chamber and provided with pockets, and vanes radiallymovable in said pockets and rotatable therewith, the radial edges of thevanes and the ends of the rotor slidably engaging the and surfaces ofsaid chamber, said vanes having recesses in the ends thereof, shoesseated in said recesses and slidably engaging the peripheral suraeeaacsneath the vanes, said shoes being smaller than said recesses and eachdisplaceable circumferentially against either side ofits recess wherebysaid passages communicate with said chamber through the other open sidesof said recesses, the seating faces of said shoes being cut awayadjacent the end of said passages to permit free escape of liquid fromsaid passages, the working faces of said shoes havin groovescommunicating with said recesses by passages through said shoes.

7. In a device of the class described having'a casing with asubstantially cylindrical chamber therein, a rotor mounted eccentricallywithin said chamber and provided with sockets, and vanes radiallymovable in said pockets and rotatable therewith, the radial edges of thevanes and the ends of the rotor slidably engaging the end surfaces ofsaid chamber, said vanes having recesses in the ends thereof, rollersseated in said recesses and having rolling engagement with theperipheral surface of said chamber, and passages in said vanesconnecting said recesses with said pockets beneath the vanes, thediameter of said rollers being less than the width of said recesses sothat each roller is displaceable circumferentially against either sideof its recess leaving the' other side open for the escape of liquid fromsaid passages.

8. In a device of the class described having a casing with asubstantially cylindrical chamber therein, a rotor mounted eccentricallywithin said chamber and provided with pockets, and vanes radiallymovable in said pockets and rotatable therewith, the radial edges of thevanes and the ends of the rotor slidably engaging the end sur faces ofsaid-chamber, said vanes having recesses in the ends thereof, rollersseated in said recesses and having rolling engagement with theperiphtherein, a rotor shaft mounted in said casing eecentrically withrespect to said chamber, a rotor on said shaft with its ends havingsliding engage ment with the end surfaces of said chamber, diametricallyopposite radially movable vanes carried by said rotor with their radialedges in slid-v ing engagement with the end surface of said chamber,said shaft and rotor having diametrically extending openingstherethrough, vaneoperating means extending through said openings andinterposed between diametrically opposite vanes, and means on said'vanesfor maintain-- ing a sliding seal between the ends of the vanes and theperipheral'surface of said chamber, said rotor being mounted on saidshaft for rotation therewith but adapted for inclination of its axiswith respect to the shaft axis and said operating means fitting looselyin their shaft openings to permit such inclination.

10; A device of the class described having a casing with a substantiallycylindrical chamber therein, a rotor shaft. mounted in said casingeccentrically with respect to said chamber, a rotor on said shaft withits ends having sliding engage- ,ment with the end surfaces of saidchamber, die

9.85am I 5 metrically opposite, radially movable vanes carried by saidrotor with their radial edges in sliding engagement with-said endsurfaces, said shaft and rotor having diametrically extending open-.

ings therethrough, vane-operating means extend- I ing through saidopenings and interposed between diametrically opposite vanes, and meanson said vanes for maintaining a. sliding seal between the ends of thevanes and the peripheral surface or provide for inclination of the rotoraxis relative to theshaft axis and said operating means fitting looselyin their shaft openings to permit such inclination HENRY Z. GORA.

